This invention relates to surgical operating room gowns and, more specifically, to surgical gowns which are disposable after use.
Hospital operating room personnel wear sterile gowns as a barrier to protect patients from infection by preventing bacteria on the skin or clothes of the personnel from coming in contact with the patient. These gowns also operate to prevent operating room instruments and equipment from becoming contaminated and to protect the wearer from blood and other fluids.
In the past these gowns were formed of a cloth such as linen and were washed and sterilized between uses. More recently, however, it has become economically advantageous to use disposable gowns and then discard them after each use.
Disposable gowns are typically formed similar to the way non-disposable gowns are formed, with the main difference being that they are made from non-woven inexpensive plastic or paper materials. It has been found that one disadvantage of these disposable gowns is that seams along which different panels are joined are not as tight as they should be, which often results in the seam being broken. In addition, the use of a single material for the entire gown is not always desirable because, while the front should preferably be fluid resistant, the back need not be and could be ventilated to provide for air circulation beneath the gown. In addition, while automated methods used for preforming such gowns have simplified gown design for greater assembly efficiency, the fit and style of the gown have been sacrificed.